9/15/2023 0 Comments Charles oakley family![]() ![]() Oakley speaks appreciatively about former Raptors teammate Vince Carter. The first time I got there, I didn’t know too much abut it … But once I got there, the people around me were just so nice. Lacking the proper paperwork, he was turned away by border guards when he tried to cross the border in January 1999 to resume play after the lockout. The Knicks traded Oakley along with Sean Marks and cash to the Raptors for Marcus Camby in June 1998. Oakley is lukewarm on Knicks icon Patrick Ewing, isn’t a fan of Dennis Rodman, and says the league had a “serious drug problem” in the ‘80s. “He don’t treat people right,” Oakley said of Dolan. His relationship with the Knicks remains rocky, which Oakley calls sad. “But this is a different Madison Square Garden from my days, a different Knicks team, and a different owner.” “The last place you expect to be treated like a criminal is at Madison Square Garden,” writes Oakley, who spent 10 seasons there as a Knick. And in 2017, he was ejected at Madison Square Garden - putting an ugly face on his beef with Dolan. Oakley had a well-publicized feud with Hill, then with the Philadelphia 76ers, over an unpaid debt. And Oakley does not mince words.Ĭhapter 13, for example, is titled “Barkley and His Big Mouth.” Oakley has his list of villains with Knicks owner James Dolan, Charles Barkley and Tyrone Hill high among them. “Guys were hungrier back when I played,” he adds. “I think that 20 per cent of today’s guys would be tough enough to play in our era,” he writes in the book. Today’s players would have a tougher time in the his era, Oakley contends. “I think it would be easier for me,” he said. Oakley is clear about how he would fare in today’s game, with its emphasis on three-point shooting and spacing, not to mention its lack of physicality. “Simply put - you did not mess with Oak,” Jordan writes. His teammates appreciated Oakley having their back, which explains Michael Jordan providing the foreword to the book. I cleaned up and made sure everything was all right,” he writes. Oakley describes his role in the NBA as that of a butler in a mansion. Over 1,282 regular-season games, he averaged 9.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game. The 58-year-old Cleveland native has a fondness for the NBA of the 1980s and ‘90s, so is happy to share his memories.Ī hard man who left a mark, the six-foot-eight 225-pound Oakley finished his career with 13,650 rebounds and 13,967 points in regular-season and playoff action. “I think people want to hear stories like this … I’ve been watching TV all the time and (wondering) ‘How can five guys have the same answer every question?’” Oakley said in an interview. So the retired power forward has plenty to share in his new book “The Last Enforcer.”ĭescribed as “outrageous stories from the life and time of one of the NBA’s fiercest competitors,” the book details Oakley’s 19-year career with the Chicago Bulls (twice), New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets. Nearly 20 years later the '90s Knicks are still revered.Charles Oakley made a career out of speaking his mind and backing it up. ![]() The wild scene cemented their places as folk heroes among Garden faithful. Somehow, Jeff Van Gundy ended up on the floor holding onto Mourning's leg with Oakley trying to pull him off. The following year, with Ewing sidelined, they upset Miami in the first round, a series best remembered by Johnson and Alonzo Mourning fighting in the final seconds of a Game 4 victory. The Knicks won 57 games that first season with Johnson. Oakley, Johnson and Patrick Ewing became one of the league's best and most feared front lines. "I remember my mother asking me before training camp started, 'Will you and Charles be able to get along,'" Johnson said during training camp in 1996. ![]() Once Johnson was traded to New York and became Oakley's teammate, the war was over. A few months earlier, a physical game between the Knicks and Hornets escalated into a near brawl when the team's respective muscle men grabbed each other by the throat. ![]()
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